Partnership between Kazakhstan and France: from the history of cultural diplomacy

Abstract

This article provides a historical and archaeographical analysis of two French-language publications from the periodical «La Femme Soviétique» (No 12, 1968, and No 2, 1971), discovered in the National Archives of France (Archives nationales), which highlight the creative career of the prominent Kazakh singer Bibigul Tulegenova. Conducted at the intersection of archaeography and the history of Kazakh-French cultural relations within the framework of Soviet-French diplomatic ties, this study demonstrates, through a critical analysis of the texts, how Tulegenova’s image was projected to Francophone audiences abroad through the prism of cultural diplomacy. Furthermore, the publication represents an archaeographical actualization of sources of personal provenance that shed light on specific aspects of cultural life in 20th-century Kazakhstan. These documents are valuable not only for their biographical insights into B. Tulegenova, but also as evidence of the development of Kazakhstan’s cultural diplomacy. The archaeographical processing of the materials encompasses translation from French into Kazakh, fact-checking and data verification-specifically the identification of international cultural figures mentioned in the texts and historical contextualization of the events. Ultimately, this publication aims to expand the source base for the cultural history of Kazakhstan and to advance the study of Kazakh-French cultural and humanitarian ties grounded in documentary heritage.